Welcome to Hawkins
by supercomsandeggos
Summary: Based on what Dustin said in episode 6. "It's fine, I get it. I didn't get here until the fourth grade..." Basically how Dustin met the rest of the boys at school.


Hawkins, Indiana, 1974.

Mike, Lucas, and Will all sat outside Hawkins Elementary School, waiting for the morning bell to ring so they could enter their classrooms. It was a crisp fall Monday and the boys sat at one of the tables discussing what they were going to do for the upcoming weekend. Of course it was only the start of the week, but having something to look forward to always made the days go faster.

"We should go check out the comic book shop," Lucas suggested. "I want to see if they have anything new."

"Yeah that sounds fun," Will added. "Maybe we could go to the park after that."

Mike agreed to the idea, wanting to stay far away from his house as possible. His new baby sister, Holly, was born over the summer and she had been fussing up a storm for weeks. Almost every night she would wake up the whole house with her crying fits and Mike often found himself sleeping in the basement to escape the screams of his new sibling.

The bell rang, indicating that a full day of learning was about to begin. The students entered the doors of the school and found their respective classrooms. Luckily for the boys, they had been put in the same home room together. They placed their backpacks and jackets in the shelves near the back of the classroom and took their seats.

Being in a small town like Hawkins, everybody knew everybody. Parents were friends with other parents, which is how most of the kids met each other, so no face was left unrecognized. Of course, that didn't mean all the kids were friends with each other. Just like any other school, there were different classes people were divided in, almost like a food chain. At the top you had the wealthy kids, whose parents had high authority and were well known throughout the town, the athletes, who were just as popular as the wealthy, the 'normal' kids who were just there, however they still got higher recognition than the lower ranks, and lastly the 'different' kids, who were picked on the most because they were either weak, nerdy, poor, or all of the above. Unfortunately for Mike and his friends, they had been at the bottom of the food chain for as long as they could remember.

It didn't bother them too much. Lucas would always say the food chain was just a stupid gimmick the popular kids made up just so they could have an excuse to pick on the others. Will, Lucas, and Mike had been best friends since childhood. They bonded over their love of comics, cartoons, and action figures. They didn't care that they weren't considered 'popular' because all they needed was each other.

As the kids got out their supplies for the day, the teacher, Mr. Smith, began to take roll. It was the same thing every day. Last name, 'here', last name, 'here'. Mike would zone out, looking at the window, as his last name would be called near the end of the list.

"Henderson?" Mr. Smith called out.

Mike's ears perked up and he broke out of his trance. Henderson? He hadn't heard that name before. Slowly, he turned his head and listened for a response from the student who had been called on.

"Here," a soft voice spoke. It was a boy with wild curly hair, sitting at the back of the classroom, almost out of sight.

The other students took notice and began to whisper. A new kid in school was an instant conversation starter, and with only about 200 kids in the entire school, word was bound to get out. Mr. Smith finished taking roll and begun his teachings for the day. Mike thought about turning around to get a look at the new student, from the sound of his voice he sounded a bit nervous and shy, but he kept looking forward as the teacher began to write vocabulary words on the board.

 **. . .**

The first half of the school day sped by quickly and soon it was time for lunch. The boys sat at their usual spot, digging into the Mac & Cheese and sloppy joes the lunch ladies had prepared. Lucas and Will were arguing about if the X-Men could take on the Justice League and Mike rolled his eyes and continued to eat quietly. He had heard this argument almost every month and it started to grow old on him. Lucas asked Mike about what he thought about fan battle, but noticed his friend wasn't even paying attention.

He tapped him on the arm. "Dude, what are you looking at?"

"That new kid over there," Mike said almost in a whisper. "He's just sitting by himself."

"Well what do you expect?" Lucas shrugged. "He probably hasn't made any friends yet."

"Exactly!" Mike pointed out. He grabbed his tray of half eaten food and stood up. "I'm going to sit by him."

Lucas was about to object to the idea, but Mike was already gone before he could open his mouth.

"Should we follow him?" Will asked.

Lucas folded his arms and observed the new boy carefully. "Well, let's see where this goes first before we try anything."

Mike approached the boy and smiled when he looked up from his lunchbox. "Hi!" he greeted. "Mind if I sit down?"

The boy responded by nodding his head. His blue eyes had a glimmer of hope in them. Someone wanted to sit by him? He hopped that this wasn't some dirty trick.

"My name's Mike," the freckled boy introduced himself. "What's yours?"

"Dustin," he responded. He formed a small smile on his face, careful not to open up his mouth too wide.

"That's a cool name," Mike complimented. "Where are you from?"

"Michigan," Dustin mumbled. "My family moved here about a week ago."

"Oh, nice!" Mike chuckled. "My Grandpa lives in Michigan." He glanced over at his old table where Lucas and Will were watching the conversation from afar. Mike made a 'get over here' motion with his arm and the boys got up from their seats and carried their trays to where Mike was now sitting.

"These are my friends Will and Lucas," Mike spoke as the duo sat beside him.

"What's up?" Lucas greeted, giving Dustin a cool smile.

"Hi!" Will smiled and waved. "Wow, I like your lunchbox. Batman is really awesome!"

Dustin nodded in agreement and took a sip from his apple juice. Mike decided to tell Dustin the story of how he had dressed up as Batman for Halloween the previous year and almost fell down the stairs in his home after he tripped on his cape. This arose a laugh out of him, his small grin growing wider. He immediately regretted it when Lucas pointed out his 'secret'.

"Woah, what's with your teeth?" he gave him a weird look.

Dustin placed his hand over his mouth and began to feel hot in the face. Will couldn't help but comment too.

"Are they missing? Did you get into a fight?" he gasped and tilted his head slightly. Mike also gave Dustin a confused look and the boy sighed, frustrated that he couldn't hide his flaw anymore.

"I have Cleidocranial Dysplasia, okay!" he grumbled.

"Cleido what now?" Lucas raised an eyebrow.

"Cleidocranial Dysplasia," Dustin repeated. "It's a medical condition that affects my bones, I was born with it. I don't have a collarbone and my teeth come in late." He glared at the three boys watching him curiously. "So go ahead, make fun of me, call me names, I don't give two shits!"

The boys were a little taken back at the language he used. They all stayed silent until Mike began to speak.

"Why would we make fun of you?" he asked.

"Because I'm a freak, a weirdo, I'm _different_ ," Dustin listed off the names he had been called in the past, some more milder than others.

"You only think that because that's what people tell you," Will said. "Don't listen to what other people say."

"Yeah, people are assholes anyway," Lucas chimed in. "You like superheroes so you seem pretty cool. What else do you like?"

Dustin thought for a moment before naming some things that made him happy. "I like comics, science, and going to the circus."

"What kind of movies do you like?" Will asked.

Dustin shrugged. "Mostly cartoon ones. I saw Robin Hood last year with my dad. He would always read me that story before I went to bed."

"I saw that with my brother!" Will commented. "He still liked Bambi a little better though. I didn't like Bambi that much because it makes me sad."

Dustin giggled and smiled again. "I always cry watching Bambi, the Disney films really know how to get to ya!"

The boys continued to chat with one another until the final lunch bell rang and they had to return to their class. Dustin was invited to hang out with the small group and the boy gladly accepted. It was so insane that he was making friends on the first day at a new school. During recess, they sat near the swings, Lucas and Will seeing who could swing the highest, and Mike brought out his new comic to share with his friend.

"What?! That's how it ends?" Dustin fumed after the panel he was reading ended in a cliffhanger. "They can't do that!"

Mike laughed. "Yeah, I had the same reaction. We were going to head down to the comic shop this weekend to see if they had any new ones. You can come with us if you want! Do you have a bike?"

Dustin nodded his head. "Yep! Just got a new one for my birthday."

"Alright then," Mike said. "Sounds good."

Dustin continued to flip through the pages of the book again, while Mike's eyes scanned across the playground, lost in thought. He knew what it was like to be bullied, he had to deal with this mouth breather of a fourth grader named Troy almost every week. He would call him names like Frog Face and often shove him around, knowing the smaller boy couldn't fight back. Mike hated that he was powerless to do anything, letting the anger boil inside him until Will or Lucas told him to ignore Troy's insults. He wondered what it was like for Dustin, being born with a defect and having nobody even trying to get to know him without asking about it.

"Did they make fun of you at your old school?" Mike asked him.

"Yeah," Dustin's blue eyes fell and he folded his arms. "I had a few friends back in Michigan, but I think they were too afraid to be seen hanging out with me outside of school. As soon as the bell rang, they would avoid me like Superman avoids Kryptonite." He tried to let out a small laugh.

"Those don't sound like friends to me," Mike responded. "I think it's really amazing how you don't let your condition stop you from doing what you like. Honestly, if I was you, I'd be terrified to even show my face around school. But you're not and I think that's real brave of you. You're like a superhero!"

Dustin was at a loss for words. Never in a million years would he expect to be welcomed into a group as kind as Mike and his friends. Hell, he figured he could be missing all of his teeth and they would still try to get to know him, the real him. For the first time in weeks, Dustin let out the biggest grin, showing his bright, toothless smile. "Thank you, Mike," was all he could get out without breaking down.

All the kids ran back inside to their classrooms when the teacher announced that recess was over. Mike informed Will and Lucas that Dustin would be joining them on their weekend adventure and they were more than thrilled to have their new companion tag along. When they got into class, Dustin moved up to the empty desk next to Lucas and the two began chatting before the teacher returned.

"Hey, Dustin, where's your house at anyway?" Lucas wondered.

"Um, I think somewhere near Maple street, maybe a block over," he tried to remember.

"No way!" Lucas exclaimed. "Mike and I live on Maple street! That's how we first met, we're neighbors. We met Will during kindergarten, but he lives a little further away, on Mirkwood."

"Mirkwood? Like from The Hobbit?" Dustin's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Well, it's not really called Mirkwood, that's just what we named it," he explained. "It's easier to remember. We can show you all the cool places around town this weekend. We known all the shortcuts and how to get around fast."

"Yeah, I'd like that," Dustin smiled at his friend.

From that point on, Dustin rode to school earlier to hang out with his new friends. They would talk about their favorite scenes from Lord of the Rings and joke about their favorite cartoons. Unfortunately, Dustin had his interactions with Troy and the mean boy mockingly nicknamed him 'Toothless'. However this didn't bother him at all, because he knew that he had a group of friends, a real group of friends who liked him for who he was and enjoyed his company. Down the road, the boys would be destined to go on an adventure like no other, with new friends and enemies. And if he had knowledge of the events to come in the future, Dustin wouldn't change it for the world.


End file.
